    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
    [October 9, 2004]
    [Pages 2429-2436]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in Waterloo, Iowa
    October 9, 2004

        The President. Thank you all for coming.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. Thank you all for being here. What a beautiful day
    here in the great State of Iowa. Thanks for coming out to say hello.
    It's good to be in the home of tall corn, good tractors, and great
    people. You know, I remember coming to Waterloo quite a few times
    before--one or two times before, in the 2000 campaign. And it's always
    good to be back. The crowds are bigger, and so is the entourage.
    [Laughter]
        You know, we're getting closer to voting time here, and I'm here to
    ask for your vote, and I'm here to ask for your help.

    [[Page 2430]]

    There's no doubt in my mind, with your help, we'll carry Iowa and win a
    great victory in November.
        Some other people were voting today around the world. As we meet
    here this morning, a really great thing is happening in Afghanistan. The
    people of that country, who just 3 years ago were suffering under the
    brutal regime of the Taliban, are going to the polls to vote for
    President. Think about that. Just 3 years ago, women were being executed
    in the sports stadium. Today they're voting for a leader of a free
    country. A 19-year-old woman, an Afghan
    refugee who fled her homeland during its civil war, became the very
    first voter. Here is what she said. She said, ``I cannot explain my
    feelings, just how happy I am. I would never have thought I would be
    able to vote in this election.'' Amazing, isn't it? Freedom is
    beautiful.
        And today is an appropriate day for Americans to remember and thank
    the men and women of our Armed Forces who liberated Afghanistan.
        And earlier today I had the opportunity to call and congratulate my
    friend the Prime Minister of Australia, who won his election as well.
    Australia is a great ally in the war on terror, and John Howard is the right man to lead that country.
        As you can see, I'm keeping pretty good company today. So I said,
    ``Laura, will you marry me?'' She said, ``Fine,
    just so long as I never have to give a speech.'' [Laughter] I said,
    ``Okay, you've got a deal.'' Fortunately, she didn't hold me to that
    promise. When she speaks, the American people know they're looking at
    someone who has got great compassion, a great heart. She's a wonderful
    First Lady.
        I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. He
    did a fine job in the debate the other night. I admit, he didn't have
    the waviest hair in the race. [Laughter] I didn't pick him because of
    his hair. [Laughter] I picked him because of his judgment, his
    experience. He's getting the job done for the American people.
        Before I came up here, I had the privilege of saying hello to
    Jay and Patrick Grassley; that would be the son and grandson of a really fine
    United States Senator. I told him the
    other day in Des Moines that we've got a big yard there at the White
    House. [Laughter] If he's looking for something to do--[laughter]--bring
    those mowers over. [Laughter]
        I appreciate Congressman Jim Nussle for his
    leadership. He's a fine, fine, fine leader.
        I appreciate Mayor Tim Hurley of
    Waterloo, Iowa. I appreciate you coming, Mr. Mayor. Now, I understand
    the mayor didn't ask me for any advice, but I'm going to give him some.
    [Laughter] Fill the potholes. [Laughter] I'm honored you're here, Mr.
    Mayor. Thank you for your service.
        I want to thank all the other State and local officials. I want to
    thank the people who are running for office. I want to thank Dave
    Roederer, who is the Bush-Cheney State
    campaign chairman. I want to thank Leon Mosley.
    I want to thank the grassroots activists who are here. I want to thank
    the people who are putting up the signs and making the phone calls,
    doing the hard work to turn out this vote. I want to thank the Sonny
    Burgess Band for being here. I'm honored you
    all are here. Appreciate you coming.
        We had a great debate last night. It highlighted some of the
    fundamental differences on issues from jobs to taxes to health care to
    our national security. Much as he tried to
    obscure it, on issue after issue my opponent showed why he earned the
    ranking of the most liberal Member of the United States Senate. Several
    of the statements last night simply don't pass the credibility test.
        With a straight face, he said, ``I have
    only had one position on Iraq.'' [Laughter] I could barely contain
    myself. [Laughter] He must think we've been on another planet.
    [Laughter] In the spring of 2003, as I ordered the invasion of Iraq,
    Senator Kerry said, ``It was the right decision.'' Now he says, ``It's
    the wrong war,'' and he tries

    [[Page 2431]]

    to tell us he's had only one position. He can run, but he cannot hide.
        With another straight face, he tried to
    tell Americans that when it comes to health care, his health care plan,
    and I quote, ``The Government has nothing to do with it.'' Eight out of
    ten people who get health care under Senator Kerry's plan would be
    placed on a Government program. He can run, but he cannot hide.
        And then Senator Kerry was asked to look
    into the camera and promise he would not raise taxes for anyone who
    earns less than $200,000 a year. The problem is, to keep that promise he
    would have to break almost all of his other ones. [Laughter] His plan to
    raise taxes on the top two income brackets would raise between $600
    billion by our estimates and $800 billion by his. But his health care
    plan alone costs 1.2 trillion. See, you can't have it both ways. To pay
    for big spending programs he's outlined during his campaign, he will
    have to raise your taxes. He can run, but he cannot hide.
        You know, after listening to the litany of complaints and the dour
    pessimism, it took all I could do not to make a bad face. [Laughter]
    Much of what my opponent said last night is
    contradicted by his own records. Twenty years of votes have earned him
    the ``most liberal'' label.
        I have a different record and a very different philosophy. I am a
    compassionate conservative. As your President, I have worked to make
    America more hopeful and more secure. I have led our country with
    principle and resolve, and that is how I will lead this Nation for 4
    more years.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. I'm looking forward to the campaign coming down the
    stretch. I like to get out with the people. I like to tell the people
    what I believe and where I stand. I believe every child can learn and
    every school must teach. I went to Washington, DC, to challenge the soft
    bigotry of low expectations. We've raised standards. We're measuring
    early, to solve problems before it's too late. We're ending the old
    practice of just shuffling students through school whether they can read
    and write and add and subtract. And we're making progress. We're closing
    an achievement gap in America, and we're not going to go back to the old
    days of failure and mediocrity.
        I believe we have a moral responsibility to honor our seniors with
    good health care. I went to Washington to solve problems, not to pass
    them on to future Presidents and future generations. We had a problem in
    Medicare. Medicine was changing, but Medicare wasn't. For example,
    Medicare would pay tens of thousands of dollars for heart surgery but
    wouldn't pay a dime for the prescription drugs that would prevent the
    heart surgery in the first place. We worked together with Republicans
    and Democrats; I worked with Chuck Grassley to make sure Iowa's rural hospitals got help in the
    Medicare program. We've strengthened and modernized Medicare for our
    seniors. Beginning in 2006, all seniors can get prescription drug
    coverage. We're helping our seniors, and we're not turning back.
        I believe in the energy, innovation, and spirit of America's workers
    and small-business owners and farmers. And that's why we unleashed that
    energy with the largest tax relief in a generation.
        When you're out gathering up the vote, when you're out convincing
    people to come our way, remind them what we have been through. The stock
    market was in serious decline 6 months before Dick Cheney and I took office. It was an indication of a recession
    that was coming, and we went through that recession. Then we had some
    corporate scandals which affected our economy. We passed tough laws.
    It's now abundantly clear that we will not tolerate dishonesty in the
    boardrooms of America. And then we got attacked, and that attack cost us
    about a million jobs in the 3 months following September the 11th, 2001.
        But we acted. We put tax relief in place. And now our economy has
    been growing

    [[Page 2432]]

    at rates as fast as any in nearly 20 years. The recession was one of the
    shallowest in American history. The unemployment rate in America is at
    5.4 percent, lower than the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The
    unemployment rate in Iowa is 4.5 percent. The farm economy is strong
    here in the State of Iowa. More people own a home than ever before in
    the United States of America. We're moving forward to a more hopeful
    country, and we're not going to turn back.
        I believe the most solemn duty of the American President is to
    protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty or weakness in
    this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen
    on my watch. I'm running for President with a clear and positive plan to
    build a safer world and a more hopeful America. I'm running with a
    compassionate conservative philosophy that Government should help people
    improve their lives, not try to run their lives. And with your help,
    we're going to win.
        Any hopeful society has a growing economy, and I've got a plan to
    keep our economy moving forward. To make sure jobs are here, to make
    sure people can find work, America must be the best place in the world
    to do business. To keep jobs here, we need to reduce the burden of
    regulations on our business creators and job creators. To create jobs,
    we got to stop these junk lawsuits that are threatening the small
    businesses which are creating most new jobs in America.
        To create jobs, Congress needs to pass my energy plan. My plan
    encourages conservation. It encourages the use of renewables like
    ethanol and biodiesel. It encourages new technologies. It encourages
    clean coal technology. What I'm telling you is, to keep jobs here we
    must become less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
        To keep jobs here, we got to reject economic isolationism and open
    up markets around the world for U.S. products, for Iowa farm products. I
    like it when I hear people around the world are eating Iowa corn or Iowa
    soybeans. See, I believe that we can compete with anybody, anywhere,
    anytime, so long as the rules are fair. And that's why I'm telling
    countries like China, ``You treat us the way we treat you.''
        To create jobs, we got to be wise about we spend your money. We're
    going to keep your taxes low. You heard the language last night, ``All
    I'm going to do is tax the rich.'' We've heard that before in American
    politics. You know what that means, ``tax the rich.'' The rich hire
    lawyers and accountants for a reason: to stick you with the tab. We're
    not going to let him tax you. We're going to
    win in November.
        I'll tell you something else about the Tax Code: It's a complicated
    mess. It is a million pages long. Americans spend 6 billion hours a year
    working on their tax returns. In a new term, I'm going to bring people
    together and simplify this Tax Code and make it more fair for you.
        Most new jobs are filled by people with at least 2 years of college.
    That's what happens in a changing world. Yet only one in four of our
    students gets there. That's why in our high schools, we'll fund early
    intervention programs to help at-risk students. We'll place a new focus
    on math and science. Over time, we'll require a rigorous examination. By
    raising performance in our high schools and expanding Pell grants for
    low- and middle-income families, we'll help more Americans start their
    career with a college diploma.
        I'm a big believer in the community college system in America. I
    believe the community colleges can be used wisely to make sure our
    workers gain the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century.
        In this time of change, we also need to reform our health care
    system. We had a spirited debate last night on health care. The
    differences are clear. When it comes to health care, my opponent wants Government to dictate. I want you to decide. I
    want you to be the decisionmaker. So we have a plan to make sure health
    care is

    [[Page 2433]]

    available and affordable. I believe in community health centers, places
    where the poor and indigent can get care. I believe every poor county in
    America ought to have a community health center. I know we got to make
    sure our programs for low-income children are fully subscribed, to make
    sure America's health care system works.
        But we've got to do more to make sure health care is affordable as
    well. Listen, most of the uninsured work for small businesses. Small
    businesses are having trouble affording health care. To more enable
    people to be able to afford health care, we ought to allow small
    businesses to pool risk, to join together across jurisdictional
    boundaries so they can buy insurance at the same discounts that big
    businesses can do.
        To make sure health care is affordable, we've got to expand health
    savings accounts, so workers and small businesses are able to save on
    premiums and people can save tax-free for a health care plan they call
    their own. To make sure health care is available and affordable, we've
    got to do something about these junk lawsuits that are running up the
    costs of health care and running good docs out of practice. You can't be
    pro-patient, pro-doctor, and pro-trial-lawyer at the same time. You have
    to choose. My opponent made his choice, and he
    put a trial lawyer on the ticket. I made my
    choice. I am for medical liability reform--now. In all we do to improve
    health care, this administration will make sure the health decisions are
    made by patients and doctors, not by officials in Washington, DC.
        In a time of change, some things don't change. Those are the values
    we try to live by, courage and compassion and reverence and integrity.
    In changing times, we'll support the institutions that give our lives
    direction and purpose, our families, our schools, our religious
    congregations. We stand for a culture of life in which every person
    matters and every being counts. We stand for marriage and family, which
    are the foundations of our society. We stand for the appointment of
    Federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the
    strict interpretation of the law.
        This election will also determine how America responds to the
    continuing danger of terrorism. Since that terrible morning, September
    the 11th, 2001, we have fought the terrorists across the Earth, not for
    pride, not for power, but because the lives of our citizens are at
    stake.
        Our strategy is clear. We're defending the homeland. We're
    transforming our military. I will make sure the All-Volunteer Army
    remains the All-Volunteer Army. We're reforming and strengthening our
    intelligence. We're staying on the offensive. We're striking the
    terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home. We will
    work to advance liberty in the broader Middle East and around the world,
    because we understand free societies are peaceful societies. And we'll
    prevail.
        Our strategy is succeeding. Think about the world as it was about
    3\1/2\ years ago. Afghanistan was the home base of Al Qaida. Pakistan
    was a transit point for terrorist groups. Saudi Arabia was fertile
    ground for terrorist fundraising. Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear
    weapons. Iraq was a dangerous place and a gathering threat. Al Qaida was
    largely unchallenged as it planned attacks.
        Because we led, Afghanistan is fighting terror and held a
    Presidential election today; Pakistan is capturing terrorist leaders;
    Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests; Libya is dismantling its
    weapons programs; the army of a free Iraq is fighting for freedom; and
    more than three-quarters of Al Qaida's key members and associates have
    been brought to justice. We have led. Many have joined. And America and
    the world are safer.
        The progress involved careful diplomacy, clear moral purpose, and
    some tough decisions. And the toughest came on Iraq. We knew Saddam
    Hussein's record of aggression. We knew he
    harbored terrorists. We knew he hated America. We knew he had a long
    history of pursuing and even using

    [[Page 2434]]

    weapons of mass destruction. We know that after September the 11th, we
    must take threats seriously before they come to haunt us, before they
    hurt us.
        In Saddam Hussein, we saw a threat. I
    went to the Congress. They looked at the very same intelligence I looked
    at, and they came to the same conclusion: Saddam Hussein was a threat.
    And they authorized the use of force. Some Members of the Senate want to
    forget that vote--or want you to forget it.
        Before the United States ever commits troops into harm's way, we
    must try all means to deal with a threat. I understand the consequences
    of putting troops into combat. I know what it means. And so I went to
    the United Nations in hopes that diplomacy would work. The United
    Nations looked at the issue and passed another resolution. And this
    resolution said to Saddam Hussein,
    ``Disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences.'' When an
    international body speaks, it must mean what it says.
        The free world gave Saddam Hussein
    another chance, a final chance, to meet his demands. And as he had for
    over a decade, he refused the demands of the free world. He
    systematically deceived inspectors. So I had a choice to make at this
    point in time: Do I forget the lessons of September the 11th and take
    the word of a madman----
        Audience members. No-o-o!
        The President. ----or take action to defend America? Given that
    choice, I will defend our country every time.
        We did not find the stockpiles we thought were there. But I want you
    to remember what the Duelfer report said.
    It said that Saddam Hussein was gaming the
    Oil for Food Programme to get rid of sanctions. And why? Because he had
    the capability and the knowledge to rebuild his weapon programs. And the
    great danger we face in the world today is that a terrorist organization
    could end up with weapons of mass destruction. Knowing what I know
    today, I would have made the same decision. The world is safer with
    Saddam in a prison cell.
        Because we acted, freedom is on the march. We know what's happening
    in Afghanistan. And despite ongoing acts of violence, Iraq has got a
    strong Prime Minister, a National Council, and
    national elections are scheduled for January. We're standing with the
    people in Afghanistan and in Iraq because when America gives its word,
    America must keep its word. But we're doing so as well because it will
    make us safer. Free societies in the Middle East will be hopeful
    societies which no longer feed resentments and breed violence for
    export. Free governments in the Middle East will fight terrorists
    instead of harboring them, and that helps us keep the peace.
        So our mission in Afghanistan and our mission in Iraq is clear.
    We'll help those leaders train armies so the people of Afghanistan and
    Iraq can do the hard work of defending democracy. We will help them get
    on the path to stability and democracy as quickly as possible, and then
    our troops will come home with the honor they have earned.
        We've got a great United States military, and I want to thank the
    veterans who are here today for having set such a great example. And I
    want to thank the military families who are here today. I want to assure
    you, we'll keep the commitment I have made to our troops that they will
    have all the resources they need to complete their missions. That's why,
    in September 2003, I went to the Congress and requested $87 billion in
    funding for body armor and spare parts, ammunition, fuel, and other
    supplies necessary for our troops in combat in both Afghanistan and in
    Iraq. It was really important funding. As a matter of fact, we received
    great bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. As a matter
    of fact, only 12 United States Senators voted against the funding, 2 of
    whom are my opponent and his
    runningmate.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!

    [[Page 2435]]

        The President. When you're out talking up this election and
    reminding people about the difference in this campaign, remind them
    there were only four United States Senators who voted to authorize the
    use of force and then voted against providing the funding for our
    troops--only four, two of whom are my opponent
    and his runningmate.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. You might remember his
    famous quote, ``I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted
    against it.'' I don't suspect a lot of people in Waterloo, Iowa, speak
    that way. He's given a lot of explanations for that vote. One of my
    favorites is when he said, ``Well, the whole thing is a complicated
    matter.'' There's nothing complicated about supporting our troops in
    harm's way.
        On national security, my opponent has a
    record of voting against the weapons systems that helped our country win
    the cold war. He voted to cut America's intelligence budget by 7.5
    billion after 1993. And now he says he wants a ``global test'' before
    taking action to defend America's security. The problem is, Senator
    Kerry's own record shows we can never pass that test. In 1990, the
    United Nations Security Council passed a resolution supporting action to
    remove Saddam Hussein from Kuwait. The
    international community was united. Countries throughout the world
    joined our coalition. Yet in the United States Senate, after the
    Security Council resolution, Senator Kerry voted no.
        Let me tell you how I think the President ought to lead. The
    President will always work with our friends and allies. We've built
    strong coalitions. As a matter of fact, I can--I told you I
    congratulated Prime Minister John Howard today.
    But I will never allow other nations to veto America's national security
    decisions.
        In the long run, the best way to defend our security is to spread
    freedom. I believe in the transformational power of liberty. I like to
    tell people about my friend Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan. I was with him recently in the United
    Nations in New York. I said, ``By the way, I'm campaigning a lot, and
    I'm talking about you a lot on the campaign trail. Do you mind?'' He
    said, ``Not at all.'' I didn't ask him if I could tell you his favorite
    singer was Elvis, which it is. What's interesting about my meetings with
    him is that, one, we get along great, and Laura
    and I consider him a friend. But we're sitting down with the head of a
    country that was a sworn enemy of America not so long ago. My dad fought against the Japanese. I just know a lot of
    people out here's relatives fought against the Japanese. It was a bloody
    war. But after the war was over, Harry S. Truman, President of the
    United States, believed in the transformational power of liberty,
    believed that liberty could change an enemy into an ally.
        Now, there were some people in the United States at that time who
    didn't agree with that. There were skeptics and pessimists. You can
    understand why. After a war, there was bitterness about what took place.
    Some, I'm confident, were saying, ``Who cares about the enemy. We won.''
    But fortunately, enough Americans didn't believe that way, and they
    helped Japan become a democracy. And today, I sit down with my friend
    Prime Minister Koizumi, talking about how
    to keep the peace, talking about the peace that we all want for our
    children and grandchildren.
        We'll succeed in Iraq. We've got a plan that will work. I believe
    strongly the Iraqi people want to live in a free society, and someday a
    duly elected leader of Iraq will be sitting down with the President of
    the United States, talking about how to keep the peace. And our children
    and our grandchildren will be better off for it.
        I believe that millions in the Middle East plead in silence for
    their freedom. I believe women want to grow up in a free society and
    raise their children in a free society. I believe that given a chance,
    the people in the Middle East will embrace the most honorable form of
    government ever devised

    [[Page 2436]]

    by man. I believe all these things because freedom is not America's gift
    to the world; freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman
    in this world.
        For all Americans, these years in our history will always stand
    apart. There are quiet times in the life of a nation when little is
    expected of its leaders. This is not one of those times. This is a time
    that requires firm resolve and clear vision and the deep faith in the
    values that make us a great nation.
        None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and another
    began. September the 14th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin
    Towers. It's a day I'll never forget. I'll never forget the workers in
    hardhats that were yelling at me at the top of their lungs, ``Whatever
    it takes.'' I will never forget the man who had been in the rubble
    looking for a friend, who came out and grabbed me by the arm, and he
    said, ``Do not let me down.'' Ever since that day, I wake up every
    morning thinking about how to better protect our country. I will never
    relent in defending America, whatever it takes.
        You know, 4 years ago when I traveled your great State in the
    caucuses and then in the general election, I made a pledge that if you
    gave me the chance to serve, I would uphold the honor and the dignity of
    the office to which I had been elected. With your help, with your hard
    work, I will do so for 4 more years.
        God bless. Thank you for coming. I'm honored you're here. Thank you
    all for being here.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:13 a.m. at Riverfront Stadium. In his
    remarks, he referred to Prime Minister John Howard of Australia; David
    Roederer, Iowa State chair, Bush-Cheney '04, Inc.; Leon Mosley, State
    cochair, Republican Party of Iowa; entertainer Sonny Burgess; Charles
    Duelfer, Special Advisor to the Director of Central Intelligence; Prime
    Minister Ayad Allawi of the Iraqi Interim Government; and Prime Minister
    Junichiro Koizumi of Japan. He also referred to the ``Comprehensive
    Report of the Special Advisor to the DCI on Iraq's WMD,'' issued
    September 30.